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Classic Musicals from the Dream Factory, Vol. 1 (Ziegfeld Follies / Till the Clouds Roll By / Three Little Words / Summer Stock / It's Always Fair Weather)
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List Price: $59.98
Our Price: $53.99
Your Save: $ 5.99 ( 10% )
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
Starring: Robert Walker, Van Heflin, Lucille Bremer, William Powell, Judy Garland
Directed By: Charles Walters, Dave O'Brien, Gene Kelly, George Sidney, Joseph Barbera
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Average Customer Rating: 
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Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Audience Rating: Unrated
Binding: DVD
Brand: Warner Brothers
EAN: 0012569791084
Format: Box set
Label: Warner Home Video
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
Number Of Items: 5
Publisher: Warner Home Video
Region Code: 1
Release Date: 2006-04-25
Running Time: 559
Studio: Warner Home Video
Theatrical Release Date: 1946-04-08
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Editorial Reviews:
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It's Always Fair Weather Ziegfeld Follies Till the Clouds Roll By Three Little Words Summer Stock
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: EXCELLENT! MORE AND MORE AND MORE ...
Comment: EXCELLENT!
I WOULD LIKE TO BE SURPRISED AND FIND THE VERY EARLY AMERICAN MOVIE MUSICALS IN THE DVD MARKET.
IS THERE, IN THE STATES, A COLLECTOR WHO WISHES TO EXCHANGE MATERIAL WITH ME?
ERNESTO OPPICELLI
VIA CERTOSA 1 A - 3
16159 GENOVA CERTOSA - ITALY
010-468779 zeller@alice.it
Customer Rating:
Summary: A very good group of MGM musicals from their golden era
Comment: This is a very good set of MGM musicals showcasing a whole range of talents at that studio in the 1940's and 50's, most musical but some not. I discuss the films in descending order of my enjoyment:
Three Little Words (1950) - I enjoyed this film the most. I think Astaire and Skelton complemented each other wonderfully. I was wondering how Skelton would work teamed up with Astaire, but he holds his own quite well. Supposedly it is the story of songwriting team Bert Kalmar (Fred Astaire) and Harry Ruby (Red Skelton), and I am not sure how close to the truth this story is, but the film is everything you expect in an MGM musical of this period, great music and good comedy. Hermes Pan, who did so much of the choreography in Astaire's RKO films, does the dance numbers here, and they are quite polished. It is quite humorous how the film works the hobbies of Kalmar and Ruby - magic and baseball, respectively - into the storyline.
Summer Stock (1950) - One of those "let's put on a show" MGM musicals, and Judy Garland's last starring role at MGM before being fired. Judy is trying to make a go of the family farm when her sister (Gloria De Haven) shows up with her beau (Gene Kelly) and her entire theatrical troupe. She has generously donated the farm as the locale for the troupe's next show, without getting Judy's permission of course. Eventually little sister decides she is destined for better things than "summer stock" and runs off with the show's star. Now the show has to find someone to take her place...who do you think they pick?
Till The Clouds Roll By (1946) - This is a pretty good biopic/musical involving the life and music of Jerome Kern (Robert Walker). Warner Home Video has restored this film to its former glory versus the really bad copies in circulation in the public domain. Unlike most MGM musicals, this film separates the main characters in the film (Walker as Kern and Van Heflin as Kern's mentor James Hessler) from the performers, who amount to MGM's biggest musical stars of the day performing Kern's music culminating in Frank Sinatra singing "Old Man River" from Showboat. Another highlight is Judy Garland as Marilyn Miller performing various numbers from "Sally". Again, you have to suspend your beliefs on the true facts of Kern's life.
It's Always Fair Weather (1955) - The age of the big MGM musical production was beginning to wind down by the time this film was made. It has more story to it than most MGM musicals, revolving around three G.I. buddies and their vow in 1945 to meet in a particular bar ten years later. They all keep their word and keep the date, but each is vastly disappointed in how the other two have turned out and initially have nothing much to say to each other. There's some interesting commentary here on life in the 50's and in particular the early days of TV and advertising's place in it. Gene Kelly is entertaining as always, but I was really surprised by Dan Dailey's talent as the ad executive that comes to a startling self-realization at an inopportune time and does quite a performance dancing and singing about his plight.
Ziegfeld Follies (1946) - The premise of this film is that Ziegfeld (with William Powell reprising his role) is in heaven thinking of his dream revue, with the rest of the movie just a playing out of that dream revue. It involves the big musical and comedy stars of MGM putting on a show of their various capabilities, and for all intents and purposes could be renamed "The Hollywood Revue of 1946" for those familiar with the original from 1929 which basically had the same purpose. Of course, technology has advanced considerably over the ensuing 17 years, but there are still some missteps. Basically, the musical numbers are good, but the comedy skits that punctuate them fall very flat and detract from the entire film. The highlight for me was seeing Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly perform together in a number. The musical numbers make this an above average film, but just barely.
Someone else has already gone over the extras, which are many, so I won't mention them once again. All in all a very enjoyable set for anyone who is a fan of the MGM musicals of the 40's and 50's with all of the extras I've come to expect from Warner Home Video. They certainly know their audience.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Great Movies
Comment: Terrific prices. Wonderful musicals.
Good response. Prompt delivery. Excellent condition.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Perfect, but not quite
Comment: It is wonderful to see these films finally being released on DVD! The prints are bright, colorful and clean and the soundtracks are sound better than ever. The films themselves are a treasure without any added attractions. However, since so much emphasis is put on special features, let me say that they aren't what they could be for these movies. Consider what the "Zeigfeld Follies" laser disc offered in the way of extras. There is a great deal of original pre-recorded music available from that film, so why not include more or all of it? One disturbing trend I noticed on the short documentaries is a change in the ratio of the screen image. After all of the talk about restoration and letterbox, why show clips in wide screen when the original films were not produced in wide screen. The presentation and restoration of classic films has become so much more important to viewers over the past two decades. Let's don't take steps backwards.
Customer Rating:
Summary: What a deal
Comment: Although this has been called a mixed bag by some, for the price, you just can't go wrong. Judy & Gene doing the "Portland Fancy" and Judy singing "Get Happy" from "Summer Stock"; Lena Horne singing numbers from "Show Boat," the musical she should have been in; Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire doing their only real on-screen duet in "Ziegfeld Follies" (they pretty much just walked through "That's Entertainment 2"); all these priceless musical numbers must be seen to be believed, all in glowing and restored technicolor. Lots of fun extras as well.
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